JAUNTS IN THE JUNGLE. 129 



would budge one inch in the direction of Aripo, to 

 avert such a precious calamity, or such a porcine insult. 



Commenced with starvation, succeeded hy shipwreck, 

 and concluded by a fever two months of my life were 

 victimised for the sake of these ungrateful shell-fish, of 

 which months the reader shall have a passing view, 

 lest he, too, in some unguarded hour, should be 

 tempted to risk his life and health by a voluntary visit 

 to the Sierra Leone of Ceylon. 



Ten o'clock on a very dark night saw me, ac- 

 companied by a brother officer and thirty men of 

 Ceylon Rifles, safely lodged on board a schooner 

 bespoken for our voyage to Aripo ; the time of ac- 

 complishing which journey was supposed to occupy 

 about two days at the utmost and at eleven p. M. 

 we were going through the water gloriously ; al- 

 though, apparently, directly into an American whaler 

 that was lying at anchor in unconscious innocence 

 just a-head of us. 



In another second there was a crash, but immedi- 

 ately after away we went again, rather curiously 

 decorated with a flying jib-boom and its appendages, 

 doing duty at our foremast-head for a pendant. 



The Yankees had not observed us, so we made our- 

 selves as happy under the circumstances as we could. 



It was about two hours afterwards that we were 

 alarmed by some bideous shouts, apparently issu- 

 ing from the sea under our taffrail, as, the wind 

 having died away, we were slowly progressing through 



